George Martin Lacroix
August 17, 1931- May 7, 2023
FAMILY RECEIVES FRIENDS: 5:00-7:00PM, Monday, May 15, 2023 followed by VIGIL SERVICE: 7:00PM. all at West Center Chapel.
MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL: Tuesday, May 16, 2023, 10:30AM, St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, 11802 Pacific St., Omaha, NE. INTERMENT WITH MILITARY RITES: Omaha National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers memorials are suggested to Nebraska Alzheimer’s Association.
To view live broadcasts of both Services, please visit www.heafeyheafey.com and click the “View Live Cast” button at www.heafeyheafey.com.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Joyce; grandson, Michael; mother, Agnes; father, Paul; brothers: Robert, Norman, and Harold. He is survived by his son, Richard (Karen); daughter, Suzanne Nelson (Dave); daughter, Pamela Clifford (Don); son, Steven (Elane); son, John (Amy); daughter, Mary Davis (Steve).
George was born In Providence, Rhode Island, at the start of the Great Depression. He was the youngest of four boys and there was an 11-year span between him and his next oldest brother Harold. In 1938 the Great Hurricane of that year wreaked havoc along the New England seaboard, causing severe damage. He and his family pulled through unscathed where so many others lost their lives.
George was 10 when America entered the Second World War. He watched his brother Harold go off to war, and come back safely. Harold served in Europe as a supply sergeant in the Army Air Corp, and did not see combat.
He attended LaSalle Academy, an all-boys high school in Providence, graduating in 1949. He had a job at a potato chip plant where he was allowed to eat his fill of chips while at work. He said he quickly got tired of them!
George enlisted in the Air Force in 1952 during the Korean War. His first duty station was to Tripoli, Libya, where he was able to visit Greece and other stops on leave. His stories about the people and places of North Africa were very entertaining to us kids.
He met my mother while stationed in Chanute, Illinois, at Weather Forecaster school. He would accompany his friend Bob to Toledo, Ohio, to visit Bob’s girlfriend there. She had a younger sister who was smitten with the good-looking visitor. George spent Christmas day in 1958 with Joyce, and 2 days later he proposed to her. She accepted, and they were married six weeks later on February 7, 1959.
By the time they were married 6 ½ years they had 5 children and had moved 3 times to different bases. On a fourth move to Germany, they had the youngest sibling, Mary. There was a saying amongst the airmen that if you were stationed in Germany, you brought home either a clock or a kid, and lucky George and Joyce brought home a baby girl and 3 antique clocks!
Being stationed in Omaha was like coming home to them. They put down roots in the community and the extended family started growing. The 6 kids and their partners gave him 19 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren, with the first great-great-grandchild due shortly.
George was always volunteering with the church and other charitable institutions. He saw a way to raise funds for Holy Ghost church capital improvements by starting the 500 Club. He was instrumental in getting the funding to build the Stephen Center to help those less fortunate. He was active in the Knights of Columbus and was a past 4th degree Knight. He also volunteered his time with the St. Vincent de Paul society and was a long-time member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, and Fraternal Order of Eagles. He would often visit the sick and shut-ins of the parish with his friend “Red” Missine.
After retiring from the Air Force, George took a position with the U.S. Post Office. Education was important to him, and he was always taking correspondent courses while in the Air Force. He used the G.I. Bill to take an electronics course, and later decided to get his bachelor’s degree in business through Bellevue College. He graduated in 1981, the first in his family to graduate from college.
He retired from the Post Office in 1994 and spent the rest of his life until his dementia got too bad helping others and spending lots of time with his, by now rather large, family. He never quite recovered from the death of his wife, Joyce in 2022, and now they are reunited in Christ.
George was a man who loved deeply, and he was deeply loved in return. He will be missed by all who knew him.
7 Comments
Our sincere sympathy to all of the Lacroix family your dad was a special and great friend we had lots of good times together and will never forget him
He will miss him dearly Gods blessings to you all
STEVE, we’re sorry to hear of your dad’s passing.
Steve, I am so sorry! What a rough couple of years it has been losing both parents! I will try to make it Monday evening. Prayers for peace…
We have so many fond memories of Uncle George and Aunt Joyce from their visits to Rhode Island. It always included a seafood dinner at George’s of Galilee on the shore! Love to all my cousins.
Mary and Steve and family, so sorry for your loss our sympathy for you all
Prayers for the Lacroix Family. New Cassel was very grateful to have been able to meet George and Joyce. Prayers to all the family and friends.
Peace be with you George. Prayers to the family
Sign Guestbook